The Bus
by Concolor44
Summary: A night on the town leaves the girls more than a little tipsy.  Are they prepared for what's coming for them?


_Disclaimer of Standardness: Don't own the Titans. Don't own anything but the concepts presented herein._

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_. . ._

_. . ._

_**The Bus**_

_by Concolor44_

Walking up behind Jinx where she was doing a final bit of primping in front of the mirror, Raven laced her arms around the girl's waist and leaned her chin on her shoulder. "How goes the war?"

"Very ha. The magic took just fine, thanks." She flicked one of her short spikes of hair with a long, red fingernail. "See for yourself."

Raven laid a palm down on the nearest point and gasped, miming a wound. "Argh! So sharp!" Spinning around melodramatically, she bumped Jinx out of the way and leaned her rear against the vanity, the back of one shapely arm over her forehead. "Lanced me, you have! I am undone!"

"I'll show _you_ undone!" the hex-caster declared, sending a puff of pink energy at the shorter girl. Raven's jeans promptly split up both sides, all the way to the waist.

Putting her hands on her hips, Raven smirked at her girlfriend. "Was that really necessary?"

"Sure." She edged over, pushing Raven out of the way, and turned back to the mirror to commence applying that last bit of mascara. "I can see to work now, can't I?"

The mirror turned matte black. Jinx slowly stood straight and swiveled her head until her pink cat-eyes bore down on Raven. "Oh, it's _**on**_ now, girl!"

Raven gave her a short giggle and blew her a kiss before phasing through the floor. Jinx noticed that the mirror was clear again, giggled once herself while shaking her head, and completed her preparations. Then she closed her eyes and concentrated. She heard water running.

_There!_

Carefully funneling the hex energy down to the kitchen of their townhouse, she was rewarded with a startled yelp. When Raven phased back up through the floor three seconds later, the front of her spaghetti-strap top was soaked, and a scowl that would have sent any other being on the planet scurrying for its life had come to rest on her face. "Not. Funny. Jinx."

The pink eyebrows raised in appreciation. "Oh-ho! No bra tonight, huh? Color me impressed!"

Raven glanced down at her chest. The top was a light sky blue and thin; the strapless lace camisole under it was white, and thinner; this showcased her full, perky breasts as definite wet-tee-shirt contenders. With an exasperated _huff_, she surrounded herself in inky darkness for several seconds. When the mist cleared, her outfit was dry and, as Jinx noticed, repaired. "It's a damn good thing," observed Raven darkly, "that we can use magic to mend our clothes." Wiggling her fingers suggestively for a moment, she did that exit-stage-floor thing again.

Unable to control the grin that plastered itself on her face, Jinx took a step toward the bedroom. However, something – a black, misty something – had attached itself to the lower hem of her miniskirt. Under the pressure of her movement, the zipper on the side gave way, and then Jinx stood there, startled, in her thong, staring back in bemused shock at the garment lying on the floor.

_So __that's__ how it's gonna be!_

It took her less than a minute to fix the zipper and squirm back into the skirt, whereupon she announced to the room, "We don't have to be at the club at any specific time. What do you think your odds might be of getting there fully clothed?"

A pair of dark blue eyes appeared on a near wall, and a voice sounded in the room, "Probably better than yours, Dear."

"_We'll see about that!"_ she thought, and skipped out to the spiral staircase.

####

Dirk paused to gaze down the long, lifeless sidewalk, breathing the murky stillness in through his nose, reveling in the first touch of fog sliding by his cheek.

The night. Ah, how he loved it! Gentle, concealing darkness; sweet, safe anonymity; and shadow, blessed shadow everywhere, filling the alleys, hiding under the narrow, anemic trees, investing the corners where stair met brownstone. When the shadows called to him, he never failed to answer. They had called to him earlier, as the setting daystar made them long and longer. Anticipation rising in his chest, he had stood from his seat at the small, peeling table in his apartment, the shadows' urgent whisper a siren song in his blood, and had made his way quickly down the three flights of stairs and outside into the gathering gloom.

Now, chased by a bracing breeze, a few fallen leaves played tag with one another down the street, slipping around the skirt of the shuttered hot dog stand, fetching up against the rusted lines of wrought iron guarding an empty storefront. A few of the streetlights were still working, each one crafting its own set of shadows, each one lending its aid to his quest this night. With a thin smile that showed more teeth than it should have, Dirk wrapped his bony hand around the hilt of the long, stained knife that was always at his waist and slipped backward into the umbra, his pale skin and dark clothes fading from sight.

####

Many city blocks away, the deafening noise and the garish, flashing light that held sway in a night club banished any hint of gloom. It did not, however, lessen the possibility of anonymity. It simply put different clothes on the concept.

The head bouncer here at _The Taco Belle_, a well-known club that catered to a specific clientele, glanced to his right as a pair of obviously inebriated young women came tripping and stumbling out the door. They paused under the awning, giggling incessantly and helping to hold one another up as the taller of the two, a thin girl with her short, pink hair in four rows of spikes, looked around owlishly. Her gaze came to rest on the bouncer's silhouette, and traveled up – up – up until she beheld his grim visage. Drawing a deep breath to try to help clear her head, she weaved over the few meters that separated them, reached up and grabbed his arm. "Bar-_hic_-Bara-_hic_ … dammit …Mam'f!"

"The word you're looking for is 'Baran'. You've known it for a number of years."

"I know th-_hic_-the-_hic_ … know th' word. 's a name." She peered up at him through the alcoholic haze. "It's _**y'r**_ name! Hey!"

"You are well and truly boiled, girl."

"No 'm not."

"Toasted."

"Nuh-uh."

"Three sheets to the wind. Maybe four."

The girl's companion, swaying like a columbine in a storm, interjected, "_hic_"

He gave them a bleak smile. "You're proving my point."

"Want m' car."

"Like _hell_ that's happening! I took your keys, and here they'll stay." He patted his pocket. "I don't need you ricocheting that old junker off every building between here and your place."

"She's not a-_hic_-not a-_hic_… 's not a juggler. 's a _good_ car."

"And I'd like it to stay that way." He gave a nod to the other girl; the purple-haired beauty seemed entirely disoriented and was trying, with limited success, to get her eyes to stay focused on one spot for more than a few seconds. "Why don't you just take the meat-locker express? You've done it before, and it didn't kill you; your car will be safe in the lot here while you two dry out."

"Oh, she's way too-_hic_ … too far gon-_hic_ … too far in her cuspidess … damn it … she's drunk. Drunker'n me. We'd en' up inna middle o' th-_hic_ … middle o' th' ocean."

Baran recalled that Jinx had referred to the smaller girl as a 'light-weight' where alcohol was concerned. He shrugged. "Call a cab."

She affected a slightly haughty look; at least that was her intention. "Cabs have a disabreegable-_hic_ … a disagribblial … a disarrigable …" She paused, blinking deliberately. "They stink. Don' wanna get a cab."

"Then walk. It's only twenty-eight blocks."

She pointed down. "In _these_ heels? You frikkin'-_hic_ … crazy?"

"Hey, I'm not the one who picked 'em out. Why didn't you bring some sneakers along? Coulda left 'em in your car."

"Didn' think we'd … need anythin' like that."

"Shows what you know." He pointed up the street. "There's a bus stop two blocks that way. Four-minute walk, even in _your_ condition."

"… Bus?"

"Yeah, bus. The Number Thirteen'll be by in about half an hour, and it goes to within a block of your place. This time of night, it'll likely be empty apart from you two."

"W'll, hell. Who rides th' bus?"

"You do, tonight. I don't get off for another four hours. If you want _me_ to drive you, you can damn well _wait_."

She pouted at him. "Don' wanna wait. Wanna go home an' snuggle."

He gave her a half-bow and held out a massive arm in the direction of the bus stop. "Don't let the swingin' gate hit you in the ass on the way over."

"You're mean."

"And you're drunk, so you won't even remember this conversation tomorrow."

That gave her an unexpected fit of giggles. She grabbed her girlfriend's arm and said, "Bus stop!" Then she broke into song.

"Annudder one rides th' bus!  
Annudder one rides th' bus!  
An' annudder gets on, an annudder gets on,  
annudder one rides th' bus!  
Hey! He's gonna sit by you …"

Her friend joined her on the next line, the wildly disharmonic cacophony bringing a wince to the bouncer's face. He muttered, "Crazy gits." But still, he had to admit to himself that, since they started dating, Jinx had really come a long way in loosening up the famously tight-assed Titan. Of course, he could see what his old friend saw in the girl – anyone with functioning optics could see _that_ – and she really did seem a lot happier these days, especially after finishing her stint at community service. "Eh. Maybe we'll all make out okay." He turned his attention back to the club entrance, where a couple of obvious frat boys were approaching. He cracked his knuckles, relishing this opportunity to show them the error of their ways.

It actually took the girls close to ten minutes to walk the two short blocks, and by then they had exhausted their current knowledge of Weird Al parodies. The brisk night air also went a long way toward sweeping away the mental cobwebs, so when they plopped down in the small, Plexiglas shelter, they were no longer a pair of raving drunks … they were a pair of semi-alert drunks. The dark-haired girl tugged on her partner's vest. "Hey, Jen?"

"Yeh?"

"You got-_hic_… you got me-_hic_… got me drunk."

Jinx was offended. "No, _you_ got _me_ drunk."

"You shtarted that Roun' th' Worl' shot game."

"No, Delia started that one. I just ordered you a Boilermaker."

"Sho … Deela got me drunk."

"Yeh."

"An' you helped."

"Yeh. … Wait, no!"

"Yeah, ya did." She waggled an accusatory finger in front of the pink eyes. "Tryin' a take avvannijh o' me. Ya know I can't-_hic_… can't hold m'likker."

"_Me_ take-_hic_-take-_hic_ … take advantage o' _you?_ Get ser'ous. You were all over me las' night like white on rice."

"Thash not th' point! It'sh the prinshiple o' th' thing, know what I'm shayin'?"

"No, I don'." She scooted closer and put an arm around the shorter girl. "But I promise I won' be takin' advantage o' you tonight. How 'bout that?"

"… You won't?"

"Nope. Scout's honor."

"Not even a li'l?"

"Nope."

"Tha's sho … sho … mean!"

"Yeh … Wait … huh?"

Tears filled the dark blue eyes. "You don' love me!"

"What? No! Don' be stoopid!"

"An' you think I'm shtoopid! You hate me!" The two nearest streetlights popped loudly and winked out.

Jinx held the other girl close and patted her hair while she wailed her misery to the skies. "Okay, thaaass it. No more Boilermakers for you!"

"An' you don' want me druuuunk!"

"Tha's th' first reason'ble thing you said since-_hic_ … since we sat down."

Raven pulled back and gave her a blank stare. "Huh?"

"Yeh, you can be funny when you've 'ad a few, but I don' like seein' you outta control like this." She pointed unsteadily at a streetlight. "It's 'cause ya do stuff like that."

Turning her gaze away in embarrassment, Raven muttered, "I dunno whashoo talkin' 'bout."

"Ooooooh, yes you do!" She turned the other girl back around to face her, and spoke very slowly and carefully. "I know you like to stay in control. Getting tipsy can be fun, but it'll bother you later. So no more Boilermakers for you."

She seemed to consider Jinx's words. "… How about Tanqueray?"

"You can have your gin an' tonic. Jus' don' have too many."

Raven smiled broadly, an expression so seldom seen on the dark Titan's face that it spooked Jinx just a little. "Okey-doke!" She scooted up next to her girlfriend and leaned her head on the thin shoulder. "You know any more funny shongs?"

Jinx's face split in a grin. "Sure do." She cleared her throat. "Aaaaaabout a maid, I'll sing a song, sing rickety-tickety-tin …"

####

Before he ever caught sight of them, Dirk heard a pair of wobbly voices raised in inebriated song. He wafted along the concrete in their direction, making no more noise than a feather, his form a dim outline that was barely registered and quickly forgotten.

He was fairly close before he could make out details, realizing that he was approaching the bus stop from the rear, and that the clear plastic that made up its walls wasn't nearly as clear as it used to be. The small kiosk stood in heavy gloom as well, the nearest streetlights having burned out. A smile cracked his face. So much the better. His knuckles popped as he shifted his grip on the knife. But then …

But then the bus arrived, pulling up to the curb in front of the bench. Dirk gnashed his teeth in frustration. By the Dark Gods, he could smell them! He smelled the blood rushing headlong through their veins, heard the muted thump of their hearts, could all but taste the salty slickness of their skin. Hurriedly he moved up beside the kiosk, watching in despair as they boarded. But then …

But then one of them cocked her head, and turned a bit, and caught his eye. He stiffened. How had she seen him through the Blur? Was she about to scream? He tensed his legs to run. But no! She didn't scream! She …

She … _smiled_ at him?

What?

She smiled. And then she winked a deep blue eye, and turned back to her spike-haired friend, and they moved toward the back of the otherwise empty bus.

He heard something, a sound that worked its way past his surprise and confusion.

"Hey, buddy! You gettin' on or not?"

####

In Nevermore, Timidity was curled up in a ball. "This is a bad idea!" she whimpered.

"Eh. Whatever," answered Rudeness. "Sounds like it might be fun."

Knowledge added, "There should be no difficulties involved, beyond directing Rage's force. And you all know how we may accomplish that."

Happiness cautioned, "Just be sure not to upset Jinx!"

Love agreed with her."We don't want her feelings hurt."

"As if you have to worry," scoffed Bravery. "If you want to worry about someone, worry about the enemy."

The others all flinched when Rage rumbled, "SHOW _**ME**_ THE ENEMY!"

Bravery nodded in satisfaction. "Oh, yeah, this'll work great!" She turned to Lust. "Toss out the hook."

####

Less than two seconds slipped by before Dirk nodded. "Yeah, sure. Thanks."

The driver gave him a narrow look. The man's voice made him think of ancient snake skins sliding around in an empty gourd. "You okay, mister? Don't sound so good there, eh?"

Dirk shot him a look that told him in no uncertain terms that there would be no conversation. He dropped a token into the till and took a seat just behind the driver.

Jinx, glancing up toward the front of the bus, took in the form of the pale, emaciated man seated there, cocked an eye and got Raven's attention. "SuperEmoGothGeek at three o'clock," she muttered, _soto voce_.

The psion giggled, whispering back, "How ya know he's Emo?"

"He looks too unhappy t' jus' be Goth."

"Uh … 'k, I'll give ya that." She studied him from behind the curtain of her hair, her eyes going hard, cold and calculating for a second before the liquor-induced haze dropped back over them. "Looks kinda weird. Not in a good way."

"Heard that." Jinx was getting some bad vibes off the character. Over the almost-year that she and Raven had been together, her psychic instincts had seen some honing. This fellow was making her nervous. "If he even _**looks**_ like he wants come this way, I'm 'onna blast 'im."

"You think maybe we oughta-_hic_ … get off the bus?"

"Where? Ever'thing's closed, late as it is. Pro'ly couldn't even get a taxi. An' it's not warm 'nuff t' suit me, either." She pulled her vest tighter around her slender frame.

####

Why had he climbed onto the bus? It made no sense! He didn't need to follow these two; mere seconds before had he even become aware of their existence! Surely there were others out there, other young women such as these. There always had been before. It wasn't as if he ever had any trouble finding them. That brought a smirk to his face, a grimace that edged into a leer as he thought of the newspaper headline that very morning. They had discovered his last pair of … _acquisitions_ … and the editor herself had penned a long article warning women of a certain type to be extra-cautious. He almost laughed, but caught himself, schooling his features again. They were _never_ cautious. Ever. They were too stupid and cocksure, secure in the hallucination of their own perceived invulnerability. He would never run out of fodder for his blade, or meat for his table, of that he was certain.

####

Jinx cast a look of concern at her girlfriend. "You okay?"

"… Huh?"

"You flinched pretty good there. Somethin' bite ya?"

Raven glanced back over at the man, only for a second, but the adamantine resolve that flashed in her eyes didn't come out in her voice. "Jus' a li'l tired, I guess. Jus' wanna get home."

Jinx hugged her. "Me too."

####

Knowledge shook her head decisively. "He will stay on the bus as long as we do. I am sure of this."

"You'd better be right," answered Bravery with an ominous glare. "We aren't losing this one."

Even Sadness and Timidity were with her on this. Just the _leakage_ from his thoughts – poisonous, evil, and twisted as they were – convinced them all that this … _creature_ … must be dealt with. Tonight.

Rage, having grown somewhat larger in recent minutes, flexed her long, black claws. "SOON. YOU MUST MAKE YOUR MOVE _**SOON**_, KNOWLEDGE. HE WILL NOT ESCAPE."

"Oh, we shall. And I know just the place …"

####

Dirk didn't know the bus routes. He hardly ever made use of them, and wouldn't have tonight under normal circumstances. Where these girls might disembark was a mystery, but in the end, he decided it didn't matter. He would follow them. They would know fear, and pain, and horror, and then, like all the others, they would die.

Maybe sometime, before too many more weeks passed, he would have to move away from this city. He would go somewhere new, somewhere that his methods weren't known, somewhere that had an incompetent police force and plenty of young women. Young and tender and succulent. Carefully, with a surreptitious glance at the two in the back, he gave his mouth a nonchalant wipe with a sleeve.

Soon. Tonight.

####

Raven saw that they were approaching a deserted, semi-industrial section and nodded to herself. _It's time._ "Uh … Honey?"

"Hm?"

"I don't … feel so good."

"Uh-oh. That Boilermaker talkin' to ya?"

"Somethin' is. Can we … can we stop? I think I'm gonna … um …"

Jinx hauled her to her feet and pulled on the overhead cord. The driver squinted into his mirror and called out, "You need to stop _here?_ There's nothin' around!"

"She's gonna blow chunks!"

"Aw, hell!" Quickly the bus tacked to the curb and the side doors opened. The girls stepped off. Dirk quickly rose to follow them.

"Whaddaya think _you're_ doin'?" the driver asked belligerently. He didn't like the looks of this spook and really didn't trust him around those girls.

Dirk turned back to him, took a step in his direction, and said, "I wish to help them. They seem distressed."

This time, his voice was not the rough-cobble nightmare it had been at first. No, it was … smooth. Low and smooth and comforting.

"… Yeah," the driver agreed, calming down remarkably. "Yeah, they … do look … distressed."

"I will be of significant help to them."

"… Yeah. You will."

"They will be fine."

"Yeah. Just fine."

"They will not require your services any longer tonight. You will not recall any of this. You should continue on your route."

"… Okay."

"Leave the side door open."

"… Okay."

"Now, move along."

Putting the bus in gear, the driver quickly roared away, leaving a skirl of black exhaust in his wake. Dirk crossed to the open door, looked for a likely spot of shadow, and jumped. He peered out of his safe haven and watched the bus disappear. Looking around, he could see no other traffic. The two girls were maybe a hundred and fifty meters back up the street, and the spiky-haired one was yelling after the bus and waving her arms. He chuckled to himself as he moved within the shadows, drawing rapidly closer to his prey. _Super-villains,_ he thought. _Bah. Better never to let on that you __have__ any 'enhanced' abilities. If they don't know, they can't find you._

Smug in his superiority, he closed in on the helpless pair …

####

"Damn it! You son of a bitch!" Jinx screamed at the rapidly dwindling taillights. Turning back to Raven, she said, "What the hell? Just leave us here? Like he's on any kind of schedule this time o' night!" Moving over to the crouching girl, she said, "How ya feelin'? Still need to puke?"

"I think … think maybe I ought to just walk it off." She slowly stood. "That might be best."

####

Rage prowled like a wolf in a cage. "WHERE IS HE?"

"Don't worry," answered Knowledge calmly, "I can feel him. He's sneaking up on us from the north. Moving in shadows."

"Ha! So he _does_ have a super-power," crowed Bravery. "Good! That means he'll be overconfident."

"Yes," said Knowledge. "That is quite true. He comes."

####

As Raven and Jinx walked slowly down the cracked and uneven sidewalk, the psion gradually let her soul-self seep into the ground around them. At the same time, she placed a light geas on Jinx that would prevent her from hearing or seeing anything that might upset her. The pink-haired girl chattered on, doing her best to lift Raven's spirits, oblivious to the self-styled doom that was descending on them.

The attack came from behind.

As they passed through a particularly gloomy section between two far-spaced lights, Dirk leaped from the shadow, his knife high, his mouth pulled back in a rictus of triumph. The blade came down, and would have sunk to its hilt in Raven's right shoulder … except he met no resistance.

Too startled to understand what had happened, he didn't even _try_ to break his fall, instead crashing face-first into the sidewalk. His broken nose a firestorm of pain, and his left shoulder nearly dislocated, it took him several seconds to realize that his knife had snapped in two. Most of the blade stood upright in a crack between two slabs of concrete, while the hilt and maybe three centimeters of shattered steel were still grasped in his stinging hand. As he watched, a dark, oily mist leaked out of it.

Then, everything got very, very fuzzy as his concussion made itself felt and he slipped down into unconsciousness.

####

Knowledge urged them all, "Grab it! Don't let it get away!"

With Rage in the van, the Emotions circled the dark thing that had fallen into their realm. It was obviously confused and had no idea what had happened or where it was, and they used that lapse to corral it. Rage plunged needle-like talons into its back; it mewled in helpless anger, gnashing at them, trying to reach them, but now that Rage had an actual target for her attentions, there was no escape.

"MINE! YOU ARE MINE, NOW!"

With great care – considering that this was Rage – she dismembered the thing, passing a limb off to Happiness and Timidity and Rudeness and Bravery. She ripped its head off and gave the torso to Knowledge. Cackling in glee, she then flew back to her domain, roaring, "MINE! MINE! ALL MINE!"

Knowledge addressed the others. "Find a good place in your domains and lock these pieces away. As long as it is sundered, the imp can't do any harm." Glancing at Rage's receding form, she added, "Of course, if Rage manages to destroy the head, the rest of the pieces will just dissolve."

Bravery suggested that they might help, but Knowledge allowed as how it wouldn't be necessary. "Rage has a toy now that should keep her occupied and happy – or what passes for happy with her – for quite some time. She may eventually succeed in killing it, but for now I think we should just let her have her fun. All things considered, I think she's earned it."

"Um … what about, uh, the man?" Timidity wanted to know.

"Hard to say. He's quite old, and that demonic thing has been prolonging his life. He may simply die. If not, someone will find him tomorrow. In any case, he isn't our concern. He is harmless now."

Bravery sputtered, "But all those women he killed …"

Knowledge indicated the torso. "You mean all the women _this thing_ killed? **We** are taking care of retribution for that."

Bravery considered and then nodded. "So be it."

####

Raven paused and pulled in a deep breath, letting it out slowly, and releasing Jinx from the geas.

"Feelin' any better, Sweetie?"

"You know … I think I am." She turned to Jinx and smiled. "In fact, I think I'm feeling well enough to get us home."

"Really? Well, if you're sure …"

"Are _**you**_ sure you want to do it that way? It's kinda chilly, you know."

"Pshaw! I can take a little sub-arctic chill."

"Okay, then." She wrapped them both in inky blackness, and they vanished from the street.

A few hundred yards behind their last position, a very, very old man lay on the sidewalk beside a cracked leather handle and a small pile of rust that had once been a knife.

. . .

. . .

. . .

**Author's Notes:**

**I was watching a piece of that new Nick show, The House of Anubis (my 12-year-old really likes it) and this story sort of gently wafted through my head. It took a couple of days, but here it is. Let me know what you think, 'k?**


End file.
